1. How did the people in the past engage in nanotechnology?

There are a variety of relatively popular examples of historic objects that have been made using
nanoparticles. The Damascus saber blades, for example, are renowned for their remarkable strength,
shattering resistance, and extraordinarily sharp cutting edge. Steel blades contain nanoscale wire-and-
tube-like components, which have almost definitely improved the properties of the material.

Many photography attempts were made at the beginning of the 19th century. Photography is
the first modern nanotechnology to rely on light-sensitive silver nanoparticles. Another example is
Michael Faraday’s discovery of golden colloids. These particles are known for their unique optical and
electronic properties, making them one of the most fascinating nanoparticles. It has shown how gold
nanostructures create different colored solutions under such lighting conditions.

Together with his team of scientists, Dr Louis Brus made a huge contribution to nanotechnology
by discovering quantum dots. These are nanometric crystal semi-conductor materials that have shown
striking different colors, created by the same substance. In addition, in 1991, It was Japan's Sumio Iijima
who found a new type of carbon, called carbon nanotubes, composed of multiple tubes within each
other. In developing nanotechnology, nano tubes will play a leading role since they possess stronger
electro- and mechanical properties than other popular metals.

These examples are the starting point of hundreds of years of experimentation with craftsmen
transferring their ability and know-how through centuries. Nanotechnologists should still draw on this
ancient wisdom now. But along with state-of-the-art production tools and analytical tools, they benefit
from a modern understanding of the behavior of atoms and molecules to produce innovative new
materials and devices within a fraction of the time.

2. Identify three (3) nanotechnology applications and state what serious and relevant societal
problems or issues does each address.

Nanotechnology is so essential because it may have the ability to solve all of the problems of
mankind. Nanotechnology, if developed wisely, could fix issues in the poorest countries of the world as
critical as illnesses, malnutrition, lack of drinking water and lack of accommodation. Nanotechnology, if
implemented in a manner that is not cautious, may be very risky, enabling the manufacturing of very
small arms with an unimaginable power of destruction.

Nanotechnology plays an important part in the future of food. Nanotechnology can be used to
improve texture and taste during food production and food processing, and to help conserve and
protect food from microbes by food packaging using nanotechnology. Nanotechnology also contributes
to livestock production by protecting plants, tracking plant growth, detecting plant and animal diseases,
enhancing food quality and reducing waste, which can counter the projected substantial rise in food
demand and growing pressure on healthy crops in many developing countries.

The other huge benefit would be in medicine and healthcare, nanotechnology in this aspect
includes the use of drugs and prevention of illnesses such as cancer. With nanotechnology, it would be
possible to create miniature "blood vessels" that transport drugs directly to cancer tumors to kill them.
Another example is the early detection of diseases such as Alzheimer’s and cancer which allows patients
to be treated and be cured sooner.
 Nanotechnology will also contribute to our emerging environmental concerns. It can create less
waste during the manufacturing of goods by using silver nanoclusters, which can minimize the polluting
by-products generated by the process used by the manufacture of propylene oxide, the raw material
used by the development of plastics, paint, detergent and even brake fluids. Another example is
producing solar cells that generate electricity at a competitive cost. Researchers have shown that a
series of silicone nanowires embedded in a polymer result in low-cost but high-efficiency solar cells.
This, or other nanotechnology-based efforts to improve solar cells, can result in solar cells producing
electricity as cost-effectively as coal or oil.

3. What is the future of nanotechnology?

Based on what nanotechnology has already contributed to our lives today, I strongly believe that
nanotechnology has more to give us and will have a major effect on the future of our society.
Nanoparticles might be used as a pesticide or as a fertilizer, but there is proof that nanomaterials in
cultivation can be harmful and even lethal. In an article published by the National Academy of Sciences,
scientists report zinc oxide, a common large band of semiconductor metal oxide, widely used in
cosmetics and electronics, can accumulate in plant tissues and prevent proper nitrogen fixation,
photosynthesis, etc. from causing major crop damage.

Nanotechnology may have its biggest impact on the medical industry. According to the
International Journal of Surgery, nanorobots could also be designed to conduct delicate surgeries, those
nano surgeons could operate at a level a thousand times more accurately than the sharpest scalpel. By
operating on such a small scale, a nanorobot could function without leaving the scars of traditional
surgery. In addition, nanorobots may alter the physical appearance. They can be designed to perform
plastic surgery, rearrange your atoms to change your ears, nose, eye color, or whatever other facial
characteristics you want to modify.

Nanotechnology also has the ability to make a positive impact on the environment. For example,
scientists might program airborne nanorobots to recreate the thinning ozone layer. Nanorobots may
extract toxins from bodies of water and clean up oil spills. Manufacturing products using the bottom-up
nanotechnology approach often causes less emissions than traditional manufacturing methods. With
nanotechnology, our reliance on non-renewable energy will be minimized. Tree cutting, coal mining or
oil drilling can no longer be necessary because nanotechnology may be able to use produce those
commodities.